The Changeling Commentary
SPOILERS AHEAD
“We have to be careful. There are no secrets anymore. Vampires can’t come into your house unless you invite them. Posting online is like leaving your front door open and telling any creature of the night it can enter.”
Victor Lavalle’s seventh book, The Changeling (2017), is a surprising and deeply horrifying fairy tale planted firmly in modern day New York City about a family torn apart and the drive to piece it back together again. Apollo and Emma’s infant son, Brian, is the center of their worlds. Two “book” people— Apollo a bookseller, Emma a librarian— they share their love of reading and books with baby Brian from a young age. Apollo particularly likes a Maurice Sendak book Outside Over There, about a child stolen by goblins. But their idyllic debut to parenthood begins to crumble when Emma receives picture texts from Apollo of Brian in dangerous positions. Later, when she checks her phone for the evidence, the photos are gone. She starts to believe that Brian isn’t actually Brian. “It’s not a baby.” Slowly, Emma unravels and Apollo, protective of Brian, chooses his son and blames Emma for her slipping mental state. When Emma does the unthinkable, then disappears, Apollo is thrust into a new life without his wife and son, where his recovery process is grueling. When he learns that Emma is still alive, his mission is to find her and make her pay for what she did. But, after a lengthy, violent journey, when he finds Emma in the only forest in New York City, he discovers the truth of what happened to the real Brian and must fight a mythic monster to restore his family. As Marlon James mentioned in his blurb, this “mesmerizing” novel is a brilliant portrait of the horrors of parenthood, of the stories we tell, and of the internet/social media age.
Uniquely explored in this book, the frightening online world plays a central role in facilitating the breakdown of Apollo and his family, an unseen villain from the shadows. From the beginning, Apollo is very active on social media, proudly posting dozens of photos of baby Brian every day. Despite knowing how obnoxious it is to post the same blurry picture of his baby, begging for the attention of others, he does it anyway. But, after Emma and Brian’s disappearance, it’s social media that proves to be his downfall. Making Apollo and thus Brian a target isn’t the only threat; after Brian’s death, a Facebook page is created to memorialize Brian, where an anonymous user (Kinder Garten) posts horrific, disgusting comments about the baby’s death. As the mystery of Emma’s whereabouts unfolds, Apollo also gets closer and closer to Kinder Garten’s true identity— someone surprisingly close to him. He steps into a family legacy larger than himself and must interrupt their sacred, unforgiveable tradition to save his son.
A love letter to New York, readers learn a lot about its history and its inner world. Though I am unfamiliar with New York, I can feel the author’s genuine affection for and knowledge of the city. A perfect stage for a modern fairy tale, the New York between the pages is full of places to hide. The city’s usual hustle and bustle takes a back seat to a more mystical vision of a place where impossible magic lives. The story weaves through unusual niches within New York including Little Norway, and an exciting visit to North Brother Island. I’m no New Yorker, and it isn’t usually my favorite setting, but this story’s refreshing perspective and unique locales endear it to me.
For readers who want retellings of fairy tales with deeply horrifying takes, The Changeling delivers. Lavalle, an entrancing voice, knows how to tell a good story.